MYTH VERSUS REALITY OF UNIVERSITY LIFE

Megan Grobler

@megan_gro.bler

Everyone says your years spent studying at university will be the best years of your life – but will they really? There are various common misconceptions about university that get debunked as soon as you experience it for yourself. This is what your years at university will really be like from the mouths of the students themselves.

Did you think you’d receive the same guidance from lecturers as you did from high school teachers? Or maybe you thought you should prepare yourself because university lecturers are surely stricter than schoolteachers? Sorina Nortje, a second-year student, studying at North-West University (NWU), debunks this theory. She explains, “They won’t personally check in on you if you don’t reach out to them yourself. I also thought the lecturers were going to be as strict as in school, meanwhile they don’t care what you do in class time.”

Were you expecting to have total freedom in your university years? You might have freedom, but not exactly in the way you’d hope. Hugo Nothnagel, a second year at NWU, stated, “People think it’s nice, you have your own freedom away from your parents for a while, and yes, it’s nice in the beginning. But then come the responsibilities, and it just gets more and more every day.”

Was your idea of university life similar to what you’ve seen in the movies? In reality, university isn’t as picturesque as you may expect. Karla Burger, an NWU student in her second year, said, “I thought campus would be very different. Like in the movies where you see people sitting in circles and playing guitar, throwing frisbees around and just a much more ‘vibey’ campus experience. But in reality, everyone is just trying to do their own thing and get things done.”

Were you under the impression that when coming to university, no one would care or notice that you are a first-year who doesn’t know what you are doing? Julianne Olivier, another second-year student, commented, “When we got to university in our first year, I thought no one would care or realise that you are a first year, but I realized that first years stand out a lot.” 

What are the key takeaways from these accounts? Expect to bear full responsibility for your marks, class attendance, and struggles. Enjoy your freedom, but know that it comes with many new responsibilities. Don’t set your campus experience standards according to what you have seen in movies. Lastly, expect to stand out in your first year, but be open to new experiences and absorb as much as you can.

Though these revelations may sound daunting and distort your prior ideas of university, see them as a reality check. At the end of the day, while university life is exciting, it is also a place to learn how to fend for yourself, take on new responsibilities and challenges and still have fun while doing it.

A poster depicting “What to expect from University” (Source: Megan Grobler)

Edited by Isabel Burgers